This Weekend: Korean Fest

If you’re sick of an endless stream of North Side copy-cat street festivals, head across the river and up to a normally sleepy stretch of Bryn Mawr between Kimball and Kedzie for the 16th Annual Chicago Korean Festival, Saturday and Sunday from noon to 10:30 p.m. each night. Sponsored by the Chicago Korean Chamber of Commerce, This is not a food festival with a slight nod to culture – it’s all about the cuture: a pungmul drums parade, sword dance, mask drama performance, even a contemporary Chicago Korean pop band, Parts Per Million. And if you missed the 2011 Ribfest rib contest winner, Woori Village, they’ll be there along with other Chicago Korean restaurants.

But wait, there’s more: traditional Korean wrestling, a Bboy dance battle, a Tae Kwon Do demonstration, the annual Chicago Korean Festival 5K, a children’s choir singing the Korean and American national anthems, a kids play area and appearances by Ronald McDonald.